<p>As a high school senior interested in business, I have been looking through different majors, and have done most of my research in accounting thus far. After reading taxguys informative accounting post, as well as other accounting posts, i've become under the impression accounting is a very safe major, with a defined career path. </p>
<p>For example, in my experience, I would major in accounting in either cornell AEM (if i get in...), or binghamton SOM. Then i would hopefully get a job in the big 4/pass the CPA. From what I have read, it seems like I would start out making 60K, make about 100K by the time i'm 30, the maybe eventually make anyone up to 200-300K+ if i do well and put in the effort (all of this being in NYC.) This seems like it would be fairly easy for an intelligent/hard working kid to do. </p>
<p>What I'm wondering is if this is actually a very typical career path, or is this just the ideal circumstances. Also I'm wondering if other majors, specifically finance/management/econ, are this defined, or is this something that is unique to accounting.</p>
<p>Good god, what is what all these accounting threads? Accounting = the next investment banking on CC. Let’s get some variety here people, or do a search for most of this!</p>
<p>Do you guys think that possibly the financial meltdown and the poor state of the economy scared away many prospective finance majors and encouraged them to switch over to accounting instead? Cause it seems like all the posts regarding ibanking have ceased and accounting seems to be on the mind of many people.</p>
<p>This, plus the fact that people keep emphasizing that you don’t need to go to Harvard or stupendous contacts to get a good job in accounting, PLUS the fact that accounting is a well-paying profession, PLUS the fact that the field is evolving is why all this stuff keeps coming up.</p>
<p>To the OP, yes, accounting is a SAFER path than finance, but with that safety net comes a price. The salary for accountants is worse than many positions in finance, and the hours are pretty bad. I’ve done some reading online, and a lot of people are saying that at the Big 4, you are working 60+ hours normally (even non-busy season), and 80+ hrs during the busy season. To make matters worse, you don’t even get the big bonus that bankers make. Plus, if you don’t work for the Big 4, your salary drops considerably, and your exit opportunities decline as well, so I’m not sure if it’s that easy to make 200k by the time you’re 30. Hell, getting into the Big 4 isn’t exactly a walk in the park either. Going into a job that isn’t your favorite because of “job security” (btw, you do realize that the Big 4 are having a good amount of layoffs as well), or because it’s an easy path to wealth (it’s not btw) aren’t good reasons. You’re not even in college yet, so don’t jump so far ahead. I came into college dead set on wanting to do pre-med, but after taking 1 lab I realized that science wasn’t my passion, despite taking 4-5 AP science/math classes my senior year in high school. Don’t worry about this, focus on getting into Cornell (that’ll make your life a HELLUVA lot easier) and then doing well at Cornell in a field you ENJOY. That is the key to success. You’ll change a lot in college (I have in just 1 year), so give yourself time to grow and find out what you really like.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, it clears some things up. I understand that going for your passion or something you enjoy makes everything easier, but since i don’t have that yet just trying to im get a feel for different majors</p>
<p>College students who attended a recruitment day this summer at one of the Big 4 were told that (1) starting salary in NYC will be $55,000 next year, (2) roughly 10% of new hires will ever become partners in the firm, and (3) roughly 90% will leave the firm within the first couple of years. Hence, the Big 4 continuously and aggressively recruit. That said, it’s true that a couple of them have had layoffs this year.</p>
<p>"I came into college dead set on wanting to do pre-med, but after taking 1 lab I realized that science wasn’t my passion, despite taking 4-5 AP science/math classes my senior year in high school. Don’t worry about this, focus on getting into Cornell (that’ll make your life a HELLUVA lot easier) and then doing well at Cornell in a field you ENJOY. That is the key to success. You’ll change a lot in college (I have in just 1 year), so give yourself time to grow and find out what you really like. "</p>
<p>The same thing happened to me. Before I was in college, I thought about doing pre-med and applying to med school after. At that point, I felt that it was the definite career choice for me and I would become a doctor no matter what. However, after taking Bio 1 and 2 with lab, I changed my mind. I didn’t do so well and I could not imagine myself taking science courses and studying so much for the next few years of my life. I’m taking financial accounting right now and I must say that I like it and I’m ok with it. Therefore, I pretty much decided I’m going to major in accounting. Whenever I mention this to people, they always tell me how they hate accounting and never want to get involved with it all. Creamgethamoney is right and freshmen should explore to see what they like and what they are good at.</p>
<p>“(1) starting salary in NYC will be $55,000 next year”</p>
<p>that’s ridiculously low… my sophomore internship in a city with cost of living WAY lower than NYC paid 60000 prorated… and even then with all the tax taken into account (no state tax btw) I felt that my paycheck was pretty small</p>
<p>Bearcats - an internship is hard to compare with a “real job.” Though many internships with Big 4 will pay around $20-24/hr, you are not getting benefits which is a large part of having a real job. Maybe taxguy could chime in, but I think $55-$60K (at most) is typical for Big 4 in NY.</p>
<p>Sigh, $55,000 to start for accountants is NOT peanuts. If you think that is low, try almost any other major. Moreover, if you are good at what you do, and have a good work ethic and get along with the other employees of the firm, you can make a darn good living as an accountant. Even government accountants eventually earn close to $100,000 wiithout going into management. Government accountants who go into management make between $110,000-$140,000. Partners in accounting firms make upwards of $250,000-$1,000,000 ( for top partners at big 4). I wouldn’t call this peanuts.</p>